Midweek Lent services begin at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 301 North Main Street, Jenera, on Ash Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m.

Pastor Matt Nowak's sermon theme is "Realizing Our Need for Repentance." The theme is "Reflections on Repentance" from King David's great penitential Psalm 51.

The Ash Wednesday Service readings are from 2 Samuel 12, 2 Corinthians 5 & 6, Luke 18:9-14 and the sermon is based on Psalm 51:1-2. The hymns are: "In Hopelessness and Near Despair, From Depths of Woe, Salvation unto Us Has Come, and I Lay My Sins on Jesus."

The following events and notices are on the Bluffton Schools calendar for March 2025:

Wednesday, March 12 - Senior Citizens Breakfast, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
- High School Band performance

Friday, March 21 - Music Boosters Chicken BBQ and Concert, 4:00-10:00 p.m. Tickets 
- Every ensemble from 4th-grade strings through high school bands and choirs will perform

Monday, March 24 - NO SCHOOL. Teacher inservice day.

Presented by Bluffton resident Mitch Kingsley at February 24 Bluffton Council Meeting

“Any ‘lesson’ runs the risk of being a scolding. When I wrote this up I did not have any bad actors in mind and had no intention of scolding anyone. As mentioned in the text, when the proposal was brought to council it seemed good to go.

My only focus in this sharing is on the experience of being left out of decisions that affect you. However that happens, intentional or not, it is a feeling most or all people dislike.”

At our last council meeting I think we noticed a civic lesson unfolding. All of us saw it. But I am trying to put it into words here -- partly for my own benefit. It’s a way to check my bearings and steady the compass. So here is what I noticed.

At the February 11th meeting a discussion came up about ending a long-term lease for the old depot building beside Buckeye Park, often called the Sportsman’s Club. The Club is apparently ready to step out of the lease but another organization, the Bluffton Ohio Historical Society is ready to step in. What could be wrong with that?

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UPDATED AT 8:45 P.M., FEBRUARY 27

Bluffton University was informed that the University of Findlay Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, not to proceed with the joint application to the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for merger approval and to terminate the Memorandum of Understanding signed on March 19, 2024. This decision comes after nearly a year of collaboration and preparation for the proposed merger.

The university issued this statement:

The merger work has resulted in an invaluable reflective process for both campuses as we have examined our strengths, areas for growth and capacity to change. The due diligence of the past year will help each university move forward in important ways.

“While the outcome of this vote was not within Bluffton University’s control, we remain confident, optimistic and steadfast in our commitment to the future of our institution,” said Cheryl Hacker, Bluffton University Board of Trustees Chair. “Bluffton University continues to be financially stable, strategically independent, and well-prepared for the future. This decision does not diminish our core mission ‘to prepare students for life as well as vocation…and ultimately for the purposes of God’s universal kingdom.’”

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Bluffton University announced on February 26 that Dr. Jane Wood has resigned from her position as president, and that Dr. J. Alexander Sider has been appointed as Acting President effective immediately.

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to express our gratitude to Dr. Wood for her service to Bluffton University. Her leadership has been integral to the university’s growth and development,” said Cheryl Hacker, Bluffton University Board of Trustees Chairperson. “We are confident that Dr. Sider’s deep commitment to our mission ‘to prepare students for life as well as vocation…and ultimately for the purposes of God’s universal kingdom,’ combined with his extensive experience at Bluffton, will ensure a smooth and successful transition as we continue to build a bright future for the university."

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